| Data years | 2020-2024[1][2][3][4][5] |
|---|---|
| Deaths, 2020-2024 | 69[1][2][3][4][5] |
| Fatal crashes, 2020-2024 | 64[1][2][3][4][5] |
| Share of metro Atlanta truck crash deaths | 15.4%[1][2][3][4][5] |
| Area | Atlanta MSA, 29 counties (CBSA 12060)[6] |
| 2024 data file | FARS Annual Report File[5] |
Across metro Atlanta, 69 people died in truck crashes on Wednesdays during 2020 through 2024, a count of everyone killed in those crashes, including people in other vehicles. Those deaths came from 64 fatal crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays, an event count kept separate from the 69 deaths. Crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays accounted for 15.4% of the 448 deaths in metro Atlanta truck crashes over 2020 through 2024.[1][2][3][4][5]
In 2024, the latest year shown, crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta killed 11 people in 11 fatal crashes. For truck crashes on Wednesdays, a large truck follows NHTSA's Large Trucks: 2024 Data definition: a medium or heavy truck with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 lb, excluding buses and motor homes. In the figures for truck crashes on Wednesdays, metro Atlanta is the 29-county Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA metropolitan statistical area, CBSA 12060, as delineated by the Office of Management and Budget in July 2023.[6][5][7]
Contents
Deaths and fatal crashes by year
For 2020, crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta took 18 lives in 17 fatal crashes. The 2021 count for truck crashes on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta was 18 deaths from 16 fatal crashes. For 2022, crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta took 14 lives in 12 fatal crashes.[1][2][3]
The 2023 count for truck crashes on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta was 8 deaths from 8 fatal crashes. For 2024, crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta took 11 lives in 11 fatal crashes.[4][5]
| Year | Deaths | Fatal crashes |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 18 | 17 |
| 2021 | 18 | 16 |
| 2022 | 14 | 12 |
| 2023 | 8 | 8 |
| 2024 | 11 | 11 |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA MSA (CBSA 12060, 29 counties). Crashes involving a large truck (ACC_AUX A_LT = 1). 2024 is the FARS Annual Report File.
Who died
Of the deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta, 16 were in the "People in the large truck" category, or 23.2% of those deaths. Of the deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta, 44 were in the "People in other vehicles" category, or 63.8% of those deaths. In crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays in metro Atlanta, 9 deaths were in the "Nonoccupants (FARS person-type grouping)" category, 13.0% of the total for 2020 through 2024.[1][2][3][4][5]
For truck crashes on Wednesdays, the FARS nonoccupant grouping is a technical person classification rather than a literal outside-vehicle test, because its other category can include occupants of motor vehicles not in transport, such as parked vehicles.[8][9]
How the crashes happened
The manner of collision recorded as "Rear-end" covers 22 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays, a share of 31.9%. The manner of collision recorded as "Not a collision with a motor vehicle in transport" covers 18 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays, a share of 26.1%. The manner of collision recorded as "Angle" covers 14 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays, a share of 20.3%.[1][2][3][4][5]
The manner of collision recorded as "Head-on" covers 10 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays, a share of 14.5%. The manner of collision recorded as "Sideswipe" covers 3 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays, a share of 4.3%. The manner of collision recorded as "Other" covers 2 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays, a share of 2.9%.[1][2][3][4][5]
For truck crashes on Wednesdays, a motor vehicle in transport can be stopped in traffic, so the collision category is not a test of whether another vehicle was physically moving. By time of day, 40 deaths in crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays were recorded under "Daytime (6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.)", 58.0% of the metro Atlanta total for this group. By time of day, 29 deaths in crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays were recorded under "Nighttime (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.)", 42.0% of the metro Atlanta total for this group.[1][2][3][4][5][8][9]
By land use, 54 deaths in crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays were recorded under "Urban", 78.3% of the metro Atlanta total for this group. By land use, 14 deaths in crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays were recorded under "Rural", 20.3% of the metro Atlanta total for this group. By land use, 1 death in crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays was recorded under "Land use not reported", 1.4% of the metro Atlanta total for this group.[1][2][3][4][5]
Where in the metro area
In Gwinnett County, 7 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays were recorded over 2020 through 2024, 10.1% of the metro Atlanta count for this group. In Bartow County, 6 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays were recorded over 2020 through 2024, 8.7% of the metro Atlanta count for this group. In Cobb County, 6 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays were recorded over 2020 through 2024, 8.7% of the metro Atlanta count for this group.[1][2][3][4][5]
In Fulton County, 6 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays were recorded over 2020 through 2024, 8.7% of the metro Atlanta count for this group. In DeKalb County, 5 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays were recorded over 2020 through 2024, 7.2% of the metro Atlanta count for this group. In Douglas County, 5 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays were recorded over 2020 through 2024, 7.2% of the metro Atlanta count for this group.[1][2][3][4][5]
In Rockdale County, 5 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays were recorded over 2020 through 2024, 7.2% of the metro Atlanta count for this group. In Butts County, 3 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays were recorded over 2020 through 2024, 4.3% of the metro Atlanta count for this group.[1][2][3][4][5]
| County | Deaths, 2020-2024 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Gwinnett County | 7 | 10.1% |
| Bartow County | 6 | 8.7% |
| Cobb County | 6 | 8.7% |
| Fulton County | 6 | 8.7% |
| DeKalb County | 5 | 7.2% |
| Douglas County | 5 | 7.2% |
| Rockdale County | 5 | 7.2% |
| Butts County | 3 | 4.3% |
Up to 8 counties with 2 or more deaths in this selection, ordered by death count and recorded crash location. Additional qualifying counties can be omitted.
Interstate routes
Interstate route records cover 27 deaths in truck crashes on Wednesdays, or 39.1%, under the route-coded interstate definition. On I-75 inside metro Atlanta, crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays accounted for 9 deaths over 2020 through 2024. On I-20 inside metro Atlanta, crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays accounted for 7 deaths over 2020 through 2024.[1][2][3][4][5]
On I-285 inside metro Atlanta, crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays accounted for 6 deaths over 2020 through 2024. On I-85 inside metro Atlanta, crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays accounted for 2 deaths over 2020 through 2024. The interstate figures for truck crashes on Wednesdays use crashes with the route signing coded Interstate and an I-route number in the trafficway identifier, so they describe recorded route signing rather than a highway's full extent.[1][2][3][4][5][9]
Routes with 2 or more deaths in this selection. Route-coded definition: ROUTE coded Interstate and an I-route number in TWAY_ID.
The trucks involved
The vehicles in crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays included 77 large trucks, and 40 of those were truck-tractors, counts of vehicles rather than deaths. For truck crashes on Wednesdays, a truck-tractor is NCSA body type 66 in the FARS vehicle file, a cab with or without trailing units, and one crash can involve more than one large truck.[1][2][3][4][5][9]
About these figures
The figures for crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays come from NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which covers crashes involving a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public, with a death within 30 days of the crash. Truck crashes on Wednesdays are selected by the day of the week in the FARS accident file, which NHTSA calculates from the year, month and day of the crash. The counts for crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays are grouped by the recorded location of the crash, not by where the people killed lived.[9][10]
The 2024 data for crashes involving a large truck on Wednesdays are the FARS Annual Report File, which is subject to change, and NHTSA calls the later version the Final File. No traffic volume or mileage is divided into the truck crashes on Wednesdays counts, so they record deaths and crashes and make no statement about how likely a crash was.[9][10]
See also
References
- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2020 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2021 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2022 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2023 national data files (Final File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwx "Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024 national data files (Annual Report File)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- ab "Core based statistical areas delineation file, List 1 (OMB Bulletin 23-01, July 2023)". U.S. Census Bureau. Official source. Checked . Source record
- ^ "Large trucks: 2024 data (DOT HS 813 816, June 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- ab "FARS Auxiliary Datasets Analytical User's Manual, 1982-2019 (DOT HS 813 071)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- abcdef "Fatality Analysis Reporting System Analytical User's Manual, 1975-2024 (DOT HS 813 794)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record
- ab "Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2024 (DOT HS 813 791, April 2026)". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Official source. Checked . Source record